


Cats

by daitsuki



Series: I Make Souma and Izumi Talk For No Reason [2]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, i'm a simple man with simple needs, they just hang out with cats and talk a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-25 15:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17123690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daitsuki/pseuds/daitsuki
Summary: Izumi goes looking for Leo at the cat cafe, but runs into another waiter instead.





	Cats

**Author's Note:**

> bangs my head against a wall
> 
> souma event 5* / izumi gacha 5*
> 
> and they still haven't talked
> 
> here's cats

A bell tinkles lightly at the door of the cat cafe Hana, almost unnoticed under the relaxed music playing throughout the small room. Cats roam the floor as customers chat excitedly, snapping pictures and eating their desserts. Souma Kanzaki, sword-wielding school idol turned apparent volunteer waiter, walks over to greet the new customer with his rehearsed script. 

"Welcome to Hana, how may I-"

"OU-SAMA!" 

The other customers look up, startled, and the cats scatter at the sudden noise. 

Izumi seethes, pushing past the other boy. He's out of breath, school bag hiked up on his shoulder as he scowls, scanning the room. 

"I know you're in here, you idiot...!"

"You are- Sena-dono, of 3-A?" Souma recognizes his face from school, and he lunges and grabs his arm. Upperclassman or not, he would not allow such misbehavior.

"You are disturbing the other customers, do lower your voice!" he scolds, also yelling. "What is the meaning of this?!"

Izumi slaps at his hand, squinting at it in disgust before continuing his search.  

"That idiot king, he didn't show up to practice even at the most critical time! He's always running away for stupid things, but now I hear from Naru-kun it's for some job at a cafe?! Like he's got time for that, so annoying...!"

"King? Naru-?" Souma furrows his brow in confusion. "I do not understand, but please explain in a proper tone!"

Izumi fumes, tapping his foot. He forces himself to continue more quietly through gritted teeth. 

"Ou-sama- Leo. Leo Tsukinaga. Orange hair, ugly jacket, stupid ponytail. Ring a bell?"

Souma thinks, then his eyes widen in recognition. 

"Oh, yes! Tsukinaga-dono had also volunteered to assist us in waiting on tables, and such. Worry not, Sena-dono, it is merely a kindness to the owners for today. As idols, it would be unwise to divide our attentions and give any task less than our all."

Izumi just stares at him, not interested in hearing any sort of flowery philosophy.

"...So is he here, or not?"

"He just stepped out, you see. His reasoning was unclear, but he had yelled as he left, _My cat-spiration is overflowing!_ _Wahaha!_ "

Souma's attempt to mimic his cackling is admirable. 

"In any case, I am unsure of when he will return... But soon, surely. After all, he seemed quite fond of this one." Souma gestures at a grey cat curled up on the floor, seemingly the only one left unattended in the cafe. 

Izumi raises an eyebrow at it. It looked super grumpy, not at all like a cat that would put up with someone like Leo. He'd probably tortured the poor thing.

"This one? What, is it waiting for him?" _To claw his eyes out_ , he refrained from adding.

"Ah... Yes, this one had been favoring Tsukinaga-dono. He has been rather unfriendly to the others, but purred quite sweetly in his arms...~"

Ignoring Izumi's skeptical look, Souma crouches down to offer a hand to the striped tabby, who gives it a disdainful sniff before turning its head away. He frowns, disappointed, then stands back up, looking between Izumi and the cat with a growing smile. 

"...Oho? He actually looks quite a bit like you, Sena-dono."

"Hah? I don't see it." Izumi crosses his arms and looks away, only further proving Souma's point and making him chuckle. 

"Hm... Even if not this one, Sena-dono truly is as beautiful and gracious as a cat, I would say," Souma comments casually. "Perhaps you were one in a past life?"

Izumi looks him over suspiciously, caught off-guard by the sudden compliment. 

"...What do you know about me?"

"Well, it would be irresponsible for a 'school idol' to be unfamiliar with the others at Yumenosaki," he explains matter-of-factly. "Of course I have seen 'Knights' perform. And as third years, you and Tsukinaga-dono perform with such experience and grace..."

As if on cue, a calico cat dashes over and writhes on the ground nearby, meowing loudly for attention. Souma reaches down to rub its belly. 

"Though, speaking to him today, I must admit he is rather odd," he remarks. "That Tsukinaga-dono." 

" _Rather_ doesn't really cover it," Izumi sighs. "Well, whatever. Sorry you had to deal with him."

"Oh, no," Souma waves his hand. "It was no trouble. He is very interesting... Strange, but hardworking. Hasumi-dono is also quite fond of him. I have since heard that they once raised a litter of kittens together~"

"Nyaights," Izumi mumbles under his breath. 

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Izumi pats the calico's head once, then straightens back up. 

"Well, he can't be too far... Thanks for the tip, I guess. Seriously, that guy, he knows we're busy, but he still came here to mess around..."

"You will not stay?"

Izumi blinks. 

"Eh?"

Souma looks up at him, frowning. 

"You have only just arrived. You do not wish to spend time with the cats? Surely Tsukinaga-dono may take care of himself a short while longer."

"Ugh, I'm not really..." Izumi groans. "I don't have time to laze around with cats. We seriously are busy... There's Starfes coming up, Kasa-kun doesn't know his part yet, Kuma-kun handcuffed himself to the kotatsu, I dropped a stitch in Yuu-kun's scarf-"

The grey cat from earlier wanders over, rubbing against Izumi's legs. He grimaces, trying to swat it away. 

"Ugh, gross, don't get your hair all over me...!"

Souma's eyes sparkle and he claps his hands. 

"Ah, Senya has also taken a liking to you!"

"...Senya?" Izumi pauses, looking down at the cat. The cat glares back at him, continuing to rub hair on his pants as if out of spite, if cats could feel such a thing. Souma doesn't notice.

"That is what Tsukinaga-dono had named him! Oho, how strangely affectionate...!"

Souma reaches out a hand to try again. 

"Senya, _uchuu...~"_

Izumi gapes at him. 

"What are you- Don't do that. Why are you doing that?"

Souma wiggles his fingers, but the cat continues to ignore him, settled between Izumi's feet. 

"Tsukinaga-dono taught me this... I believe it is cat language. You should try also. Look, _uchuu_ -"

"Stop that!"

He swats at Souma's peace signs and groans. 

"Seriously... I can't take more than one person doing that, or I'll go insane."

He rubs his temples, then looks down at the cat. 

"...Ugh. I can't believe you like him, stupid annoying cat idiot."

He picks up the cat, who only protests with a quiet  _mrrr_. Souma smiles. 

"Surely Tsukinaga-dono will return soon," he tries again to convince him and gestures to a table. "In the meantime, please allow me- us, to serve you."

Senya purrs and Izumi lets out a huff of defeat. 

"Fine. Whatever. I guess I'm stuck with this one..."

As soon as he sits down with Senya in his lap, the calico trots over and sits on his feet. Souma just laughs and goes to get him a drink.

"It seems you are well-loved, Sena-dono. Now, please wait here, and I will-"

"Kanzaki!" Keito's voice bellows into the cafe as soon as Souma opens the back door, making him jump.

"H-Hasumi-dono-?"

"Take a break, already! Soon you'll drop dead and the cats will just eat you!"

"E-Eat me?! Though I suppose they eat meat, I do not think such a thing would happen-"

" _Kanzaki_."

"...Understood."

Souma slumps in defeat and heads back towards Izumi's table, pulling off his apron sullenly as the other boy glances up at him.

"Would you mind if I joined you? Sena-dono."

Izumi just looks him over before rolling his eyes.

"Um... Whatever."

Souma nods in thanks, and a black and white cat hops up onto his lap. He smiles and pets her gently, happy to see her again.

"Ah... Cats truly are calming, are they not? One's worries simply melt away feeling their soft fur...~"

Izumi sighs and pets his own grey cat, letting his anxieties about Leo's whereabouts and general well-being fade away just the slightest bit.

"Yeah... I guess you're right."

The calico purrs.

* * *

"This Tsukinaga-dono," Souma comments as they finish their food. "You say he is frequently absent from unit activities?"

"Ugh, yeah, I always have to drag him in," Izumi groans. "Or, well, make Kasa-kun drag him in. It's seriously annoying, he just does whatever he wants... Like, don't you know you're a unit leader? Act like one, already."

Souma hums, scratching behind his cat's ears.

"He sounds much like a certain disgrace in my own club. Though, given his... behavior, I would rather he not come at all."

Hearing that description, Izumi raises an eyebrow.

"In Marine Bio... You mean Kao-kun, right? What's so bad about him?"

Souma narrows his eyes, hand instinctively going for his left side to grasp at his sword- or where it would normally be, as it had been safely stored in the back room prior to working with any customers. He curses quietly.

"He is lazy, and aimless, and knows nothing but his own desires. Absolutely incorrigible."

"...You sound like Hasumi."

"Ah, thank you."

Izumi sighs and folds his arms.

"I mean... Yeah, you're not totally wrong, but he's not, like, a bad guy." He feels a bit awkward trying to defend Kaoru to a guy who obviously despises him, and also owns a sword he can and would kill Izumi with. Not a great mix. "But besides, it's not like club activities are as important as unit activities. Like, imagine how Sakuma feels- Okay, no, Sakuma doesn't care. But still."

"This is true, UNDEAD is strangely tolerant of his truancy," Souma huffs in annoyance. "Adonis-dono often defends him as well, though he has surely done nothing but inconvenience all three of them."

He pauses, leveling Izumi with a serious look that startles him.

"However, do not take our club activities lightly. The precious place that Buchou-dono has created is not something I will allow to be trampled upon by that man, or disregarded by an outsider such as yourself."

Izumi swallows. Who knew he'd be so serious about something like... fish? Is that what they do, they look at fish?

He looks him over in a new light after being scolded, nodding slowly.

"Um... Right." He tries to choose his words carefully. "Well, if it's that important to you, then, yeah, I think I get it... Sometimes it feels like Ou-sama just stopped giving a shit, even though it's our... my 'precious place,' too."

His voice falters and he clears his throat, shaking his head as if to clear his own mind. It doesn't escape Souma's notice.

"But, uh, I meant it. I don't think Kao-kun's a bad guy. He's got more on his mind than you'd think, so-"

"SENA?!"

A blur of orange suddenly crashes into the table, and both Izumi and Souma yelp in surprise. The cats sitting with them scatter, along with all those in a two table radius.

"Wh- Ou-sama, you came back-?"

Leo laughs triumphantly, hands on his hips, where the cafe's apron still hangs.

"Of course, of course! These cats filled me with inspiration, and I just couldn't sit still! I had to come back and see them, but- Ah! I found my favorite cat instead!"

He starts jumping around Izumi, quickly irritating him, as per usual. He reaches out and grabs Leo's sleeve.

"Idiot- Don't say that! And, most importantly, what do you think you're doing here, when we have all this work...!"

"Ehh? Work, work, work, Sena alllways wants to work, just take a break sometime-!"

"Tsukinaga-dono!" Souma yells suddenly, jumping from his chair. Leo freezes and is, for once, rendered speechless, pausing in his jumping to look at him. 

"Tsukinaga-dono," he continues. "Thank you very much for your help at the cat cafe Hana today. We are truly grateful, however- I must ask you to leave!"

"...Eh?" Leo tilts his head, not understanding.

Souma bows deeply in front of him, making Leo jump back in surprise.

"Please go back and attend to your duties with Sena-dono. We will take care of anything that may arise from now!"

He raises his head, looking into Leo's eyes and fervently taking his hand. Leo is bewildered.

"Ehh... Ehh...?!" After taking a moment to stare at him, he starts to laugh, shaking Souma's hand wildly up and down, making the other boy dizzy. "Interesting, you're a real interesting guy! I like you, I love you!"

"L-Love...?!" Souma squeaks.

Izumi takes the opportunity to drag the still-cackling Leo away towards the door. He chuckles to himself, then looks back over his shoulder at Souma, who stands there dumbfounded.

"...Thanks, Souma-kun. Guess I owe you one."


End file.
